9/18/09

7 Chocolate (Zucchini) Cake





My mom is pretty sneaky.

She made me this cake when I was a teenager.

This moist, chocolatey cake.

And I fell in love with it.


Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Little did I know that there was a 'special' ingredient in it.

Zucchini.



She knows I have an aversion to eating anything green.

Especially green vegetables.

But.




She successfully hid this green vegetable in this cake. You can use a 12 cup bundt pan or two 8"x4" loaf pans with this recipe.

How did she do it?




There's a couple of tips:

First, peel and seed the zucchini.


Then finely grate the zucchini. My Cuisinart food processor does a great job of quickly shredding!

Not so fine that you get mush.

Not so coarse that you can actually see the zucchini in the cake.

Loosely measure 2 c. worth.

Wanna have this cake during the winter?

Put 2 c. of shredded zucchini in a freezer bag, flatten, and zip it up.

Thaw and put it in a strainer and let it drain.

Do NOT squeeze the water/juice out...


Another great ingredient in this cake is buttermilk.

I have discovered the SaCo buttermilk powder and love it!

Love it....

I just use 2 T. of this and 1/2 c. of water to equal 1/2 c. of fresh buttermilk.



Let's take a close look at this cake.

See how moist and chocolatety it is?

Do you see any green things....strings....stuff?

Nope. But it's there. Just don't tell any one!



Enjoy!


print recipe

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Finely shred your zucchini, which the secret ingredient that makes this cake so moist. You can measure your grated zucchini and put in freezer safe baggies for up to one year. Thaw out over night in the fridge, and you ready to enjoy this cake year round!
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine
  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
  • 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 Tablespoons cocoa
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
  • 2 cups peeled, finely grated zucchini
  • 1/2 cup soured milk or buttermilk (to make soured milk, add 1.5 teaspoons lemon juice to a 1/2 cup measure, then fill with enough milk to equal 1/2 cup. Let sit 5 minutes). 

  • 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
1. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter & shortening till light and creamy.2. Add the granulated sugar and mix well.3. Add eggs and vanilla extract.4. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and spices.5. Add the grated zucchini to the sugar mixture. Alternately add the buttermilk and flour till combined.6. Pour into a well greased and floured (or use granulated sugar) 12 cup bundt pan*.7. In a small bowl, mix the chocolate chips and 2 T. of granulated sugar. Sprinkle evenly on top of the cake batter.8.Bake in a 325°F preheated oven for 50-55 minutes of until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  *Can use two 8"x4" loaf pans.
Details
Prep time: 15Cook time: Total time: 1Yield: 12-16 servings

7 comments:

  1. Looks good! I love baking with buttermilk!

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  2. I love zucchini bread. I'm sure your cake is terrific. I made and posted about making your rosette hamburger buns. Thanks for sharing your technique!

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  3. I ran out of buttermilk powder! Nooooooo!

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  4. I MUST sneak my kiddos some zucchini this way...brilliant mama :D This looks so moist and inviting!

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  5. This cake looks delicious. Now to see if someone will gift me a zucchini to make this dish.

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  6. Sounds good - thanks for the tip on the buttermilk powder, I must get me some of that

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  7. I'm happy to report that a good friend of mine made this recipe and said it was soooo yummy! This is a moist, rich cake that doesn't need frosting!

    Barbara, I'm looking forward to your post on the hamburger buns...thanks for the comment~

    Norah, just put a sign on your doorstep "Will bake for free zucchini" and I'm sure several will show up...

    Sophie, courgettes? Never heard that before...that's what I love about blogging...I'm learning something new daily!

    ReplyDelete

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